Nationalizing U.S. Elections: Obama's Most Dangerous Idea?

ad Ideas: Not content with taking over health care and virtually nationalizing the financial markets, the Obama administration has another in a long line of great ideas: Let's put our election system under federal control, too. It's a terrible idea for which there are vastly better alternatives.

Department of Homeland Security chief Jeh Johnson wants to declare that the electoral system in America is "critical infrastructure," meaning DHS could impose its rule over the nation's voting places as a matter of "security." The proposal comes in response to reports that some unnamed foreign powers have already tried to hack into two states' computerized voting systems, thus posing a direct threat to fair and transparent elections.

"We should carefully consider whether our election system, our election process, is critical infrastructure like the financial sector, like the power grid," said Johnson, citing a "vital national interest in our election process."

This is not just a bad idea; it is dangerous. America's polling functions have long been managed at the state and local level, to ensure that our mammoth federal government doesn't get involved. It should stay that way. This government has stood by as an unprecedented series of cyberattacks have stolen our secrets and endangered our security. We should give them more power?

Letting our elephantine government get its giant proboscis under the tent flap for reasons of "national interest" is opening up the possibility of political meddling in elections by government officials — either through actual intervention in the running and management of polling places, or by clever regulation that favors one party over another. With the bulk of all bureaucrats leaning toward a Democratic affiliation, we don't need to wonder who would benefit most.